Training as an emergency medical technician, or EMT, will come in handy if you would like to work for a hospital or ambulance service. EMT training will also add more value to your candidacy if you are interested in volunteering at your local fire department.
Most EMTs start off in a program that teaches them the skills needed to respond to accidents and people who are ill or injured. You can be expected to complete the following:
- Train on the same type of first responder and lifesaving equipment you would be working with in the field
- Become familiar with sophisticated computer programs and equipment
- Work in an environment similar to a hospital as well as on ambulances to learn the skills you need to successfully complete your emergency medical technician training.
First Responder Duties
Since emergency medical technicians are often the first ones to receive a call for help whether it's from someone who has become ill in his or her home or place of employment, or has been injured in any way, they need to be able to react quickly and calmly to get to the scene. That is why EMTs are referred to as "first responders" because they are often the first medically trained personnel to reach a scene. While an EMT is headed toward a scene, before they've even helped a patient, they need to be prepared for an often stressful situation. Once at the scene, they should be prepared to handle the following:
- Assess a patient's condition
- Stabilize and perform any necessary medical services on a patient who is ill or injured
- Handle patients who might be seriously injured or non-responsive
- Transport a patient, or sometimes multiple patients, to a hospital or medical facility for further treatment.
Emergency medical technician training will also prepare you for work that is often physically demanding. EMTs might have to carry an overweight patient from a second floor bedroom to an ambulance or even help fire department personnel extract a person from a damaged vehicle. Besides the sheer physical strength that is required in this line of work, there's the added element of having to work both indoors and outdoors in all kinds of weather. This might mean helping rescue a patient in a heat wave or in the middle of an ice storm.
Completing an extensive EMT training program will not only give you a sense of accomplishment because you were able to help people in dire situations, but it will also provide you with a host of job opportunities in both the medical and rescue fields.
